


Childhood Promise

by kingmxnghxx (mydnightashes)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Short Kid Soonyoung, Tall Kid Jihoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 05:04:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11844519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mydnightashes/pseuds/kingmxnghxx
Summary: Jihoon's mom once told him: "If you really like someone, and they're really special to you and you want to be with them for the rest of your life, you tell them that."As a 7 year old, he didn't know much, but he knew for a fact that there was something different about Kwon Soonyoung."Jihoonie, if I grow this tall, will you be mine?""Do you even know what "Will You Be Mine" means?""No, but if it means we get to be friends forever then I'll keep saying it!"Definitely something special.





	Childhood Promise

 "Jihoon!" A little boy ran across grass, narrowly avoiding the flocks of children playing around the field. "Jihoon, wait for me!"

The said boy didn't notice the flash of black hair barrelling towards him, since he was too immersed into reading his book under the shade. When Jihoon put his book down, he found himself face to face with a small boy who was smiling brightly, eyes only a few inches away from his own.

Jihoon blinked a few times as the kid's smile grew wider and wider by the second.  _"Jihoon!"_  he yelled out, jumping onto Jihoon's lap, almost crushing the book he was reading.

"Hey, you're going to fold my book!" Jihoon yelled, shoving the boy off of his lap and cradling the book to his chest. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Kwon Soonyoung! We're in the same class. You're the tall one at the back of the room! Our teacher told me you're too tall, that's why you're at the back. Is that true?"

_Wow, this kid is a talker. But he's not exactly wrong._

Jihoon was 4'0" at the time, which was massive compared to the other 7-8 year olds in his school who were only donning around a height of 3'10" or even a little taller.  _This boy_  however, seemed to be even smaller than the normal kids in class, around 4 inches shorter than himself.  _How tiny._

"I'm not tall. You're just really short." Jihoon chuckled when Soonyoung stomped his feet angrily into the ground. "I'm not small! My mom said I'm going to grow up to be a big boy!"

"Yeah, I'm sure...Pipsqueak." he teased even more, adding a new nickname just for fun.

Soonyoung's lips morphed into a deep pout, which made Jihoon feel guilty almost immediately, ducking his head to the side to avoid the shorter one's look. "What does height have to do with playing with you anyways?"

The 7 year old had to think about it for a minute. Staring down at his book in thought. "Huh. I don't know." Soonyoung's head perked up at that statement. "But why would you want to play with me? I'm...boring compared to the other kids."

Across the field, nearer the school building were clumps of kids running around, playing with each other on the playground. Everyday, Jihoon was normally alone, even for a kid his age, under the shade on the other side of the school, either reading or colouring, or if he was in the mood, writing. He never played around like his other classmates, and he preferred to be alone.

Soonyoung quickly shook his head, grabbing Jihoon's arm and shaking it rapidly. "I wanna be friends with  _you_!" he beamed. "The other kids in class told me I should stay away from you since you're so tall, but you don't scare me. I bet you're really nice!"

_Am I really, though?_

The shorter of the two stepped closer, craning his neck up so he could look at Jihoon directly in the eye. "So, can we be friends?"

"I don't know..." Jihoon felt unsure about it. Soonyoung was going to be his first friend.

"...If we are can I still call you pipsqueak? You are short, you know." he held his book in one hand and messed up Soonyoung's hair with the other one, making him laugh and jump away. 

 Soonyoung pretended to think for a moment, while fixing his hair. "Deal!" He threw out his hand. "Now we have to shake on it! You and I are now officially friends!"

The two boys laughed as they shook hands, sealing the deal, just as the teacher called them back for class.

* * *

 

The weeks after that were probably the most fun Jihoon had had in a long time. 

Every recess, Soonyoung dragged Jihoon over to the tree where they met, running around and scattering fallen leaves all over the taller's hair. Soonyoung's favorite thing to do though was climb onto one of the branches on the tree above Jihoon's head and claim how he was finally taller than the other. 

"Yah! Jihoon look, I'm taller now!" he cheered, while his legs swung, almost kicking Jihoon in the face. Jihoon just smiled and pulled him down from the tree, catching Soonyoung in a hug before he fell to the ground. "Nope, I'm still taller than you!"

Soonyoung, who was still in hugging Jihoon punched his chest lightly, "You're always so mean to me!" Instead of jumping down from Jihoon's grasp though, Soonyoung ended up resting his head on Jihoon's shoulder sighing. "I'll be taller, just you wait!"

Jihoon immediately dropped him after he heard those words. "Hey! That hurt-!" the shorter cut himself off when he noticed a scene happening beyond the fence of the school, outside. Jihoon watched as Soonyoung walked over to the fence, thoroughly examining what was happening. 

Outside the school, across the street was a row of shops along the street. In one of the shops sat a couple whose hands were laced together, the girl was resting her head on the guy's arm because he was too tall for her head to reach his shoulder. 

"They look like my mom and dad." Jihoon heard Soonyoung mention, and he had to agree. The two clearly were so in love with each other, he could see it in their facial expressions alone. 

After a few minutes of watching the couple interact, Jihoon started to get bored. "C'mon pipsqueak, let's go, it's hot here." Right as he was about to turn away, he was jerked back by Soonyoung, who was jumping around excitedly. "Jihoon, look! Look!" The two boys eyes' widened in shock. 

The tall man was now kneeling in front of the girl, holding a small box while a bunch of people stood behind him holding a board that read: Will You Be Mine? The girl looked like she was going to burst into tears as she nodded quickly and hugged him tightly, everyone around them cheering. 

Before the Jihoon could look at how Soonyoung reacted, the two found themselves being dragged back to class by the hands of their teacher.

* * *

 

A few days later, young Jihoon was still thinking about the couple they saw outside the school. 

 

_"Ma?"_

_"Yes, my Jihoonie?"_

_"What does "Will You Be Mine?" mean?"_

_"Huh. Aren't you a little too young to be asking me that?"_

_"I don't know. Soonyoungie and I saw a couple outside of school a while ago. The guy kneeled down and there were people holding a thing that said "Will you be mine?" and the girl yelled yes while covering him in hugs and kisses. Ewww."_

_"Hugs and kisses aren't gross! I kiss you and your dad to show how much I love you!"_

_"But what about the...cooties?"_

_"Jihoonie, you won't get cooties from hugging and kissing people you like. Don't you hug Soonyoung before his parents pick him up?" Jihoon felt his cheeks heat up._

_"NO! He's the one that hugs me, not me." he felt like his mother was going to lash back at him teasingly with something else, but he cut her off immediately. "_   _But ma, you didn't answer me, what does it mean?"_

_"Well, you listen here Jihoon okay? When you like someone a lot, and you want to spend the rest of your life with them, you can tell them that. Alright?"_

_And that had the 7 year old thinking. "For the rest of my life?"_

_"Yep. As long as you'll always love them. But you're too young to be telling that to someone, so you have to save it for someone special, okay?"_

_Jihoon didn't know why but it brought a smile to his face. "Yes, ma!"_

 

"For the rest of my life?" he asked himself, while he watched Soonyoung dance around the fallen leaves once again, smiling. Soonyoung was his first and only friend in the pre-school, and young Jihoon hoped that they'd always be able to play together, no matter what. 

After a few minutes, Soonyoung dropped down beside Jihoon and laid his head down on Jihoon's lap, yawning. "Jihoonie, I'm sleepy..." 

"Then go to sleep, pipsqueak." Jihoon chuckled, shifting his body so Soonyoung would be more comfortable. They stayed like that in silence, while Jihoon watched all the other kids on the playground.

"Jihoonie?" a whisper from his lap. "Yes?"

Soonyoung turned his head to look up at the taller one. "Do you remember the couple we saw a few days ago?" Nod. "What does, "Will You Be Mine?" mean?" he said, reaching up and poking Jihoon's cheek. 

"My ma said, that if you really like someone, and you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you tell them that." Jihoon watched Soonyoung turn back and ponder over what he had told him. "For the rest of my life?"

"Yeah."

"Like until we get older, I'll still be with them?" The shorter's head sprung up from Jihoon's lap and turned towards him completely.

"I guess so." Suddenly, Jihoon was pulled up and shaken around by Soonyoung who was suddenly filled with adrenaline, jumping up and down quickly. 

"Jihoonie! Jihoonie! Jihoonie! Will you be mine?!" He yelled out, jumping up and down. Jihoon giggled and shook his head. "Pipsqueak, you don't know what you're saying!" he turned to the tree and started laughing more. 

Soonyoung jumped some more and forced Jihoon to turn back to him. "I'm not kidding! Be mine!"

"But Pipsqueak," Jihoon placed his hand on Soonyoung to try and stop him from bouncing too much. "you're too short for me!"

Even with that statement, Soonyoung shook Jihoon's hand off of his head and started standing up on his tippy toes. "Hey! If I grow thiiii~s tall," he threw his hands in the air to try and make himself look as tall as possible, "you'll be mine??" 

A warm smile slowly grew on Jihoon's face, "Yeah, sure pipsqueak, we'll see."  _As if you're ever going to be taller than me._

"YAY! It's a promise alright?"

"Alright!"

 

Minutes later, Jihoon found himself being dragged towards Soonyoung's table in their classroom, being forced to write his name on a piece of paper. "Pipsqueak, what's this?"

Said boy slammed a hand on the paper, "It's a 'contract'! I saw my dad write one of these at home! Since you promised, you need to write your name so you'll always remember to keep your promise!"

"Do I really have to..." Jihoon trailed off, dropping the pen on the table. Soonyoung immediately pouted and stomped his feet on the carpet. "B-but... You promised!" He looked like he was almost about to cry which honestly terrified poor Jihoon to his bones. 

The 7 year old didn't know why, but he immediately felt guilty to the shorter's pout so he grabbed the pencil and haphazardly wrote his name in big bold letters at the bottom of the paper. "There! I signed it! Please don't cry, big boys don't cry remember!"

When the shorter boy looked up to him, Jihoon almost thought he was dreaming because there was  _no way in the entire kid universe_  that a kid could have smiled as wide, as bright, and as  _happy_ as the Pipsqueak--Soonyoung did at that moment. 

 

That was the day Jihoon fell. 

* * *

 

**LEE JIHOON promises to remember Kwon Soonyoung's promise.**

**~~When~~  If Soonyoung grows taller than Jihoon, then Jihoon will be Soonyoung's forever.   
**

**THE END.**

_**Written by: KWON SOONYOUNG, 7 years old** _

_**Signed by: LEE JIHOON, 7 years old** _

 

* * *

 

"Hey, do you guys remember Soonyoung?" Seokmin had asked the four people sitting at their table, typing away on his phone.

"Kwon Soonyoung?" "How could we not?" "Do you even need to ask us that, really?" three out of four happily exclaimed, namely Jisoo, Jeonghan, and Seungcheol in that order. Fourth person being Jihoon, who stayed silent. 

 

 _Kwon Soonyoung_. How could Jihoon forget about the boy who had magically appeared to him in preschool and left a deep impression on him, at seven years old?

The boy who stuck by him even when all the other kids were scared to even be near him.

The boy who always climbed trees to just to reach Jihoon's height.

The boy who made him sign a special contract that only the two of them knew about.

The boy with a special place in Jihoon's heart. 

His Pipsqueak.  

Jihoon honestly had no idea what had happened to Soonyoung after he left for abroad. At the time, they were around the same height, Jihoon probably a centimeter or two taller than him at the most, which he still loved to tease Soonyoung about constantly, seeing how he was the shortest of their friend group. 

After Soonyoung left, Jihoon  ~~cut all ties and stopped attempting to keep in touch with him so he could mend his broken heart~~  hadn't heard from him since. 

 

Seokmin barked out a laugh, "Your reactions are so funny, jesus I only asked a question."

Jeonghan waved a hand in the air. "I mean, you know. He is Jihoon's crush and best friend so--"

" _Was._ " said person corrected. "Huh?" " _Was my crush_."

"But still your best friend even if you stopped talking to him after he left." Seungcheol, who was beside Jihoon continued on.

"The feelings are still there Jihoon, you make it too obvious." Jisoo, concluded.  

_Damnit, why are they always right._

 

"So, Seokminnie, why were you asking about Soonyoung?" Jisoo pointed to Seokmin's phone which kept vibrating with new messages every few seconds. He tossed it to Jisoo, "Look for yourself."

 

"AWWWW HIS MESSAGES ARE SO CUTE, JIHOON LOOK!" he heard Jeonghan yell, as he was jerked up and given a phone with the messages open. 

_**Lee Seokmin (Me)**  
_

TF I knew you were back since yesterday, your mother called me :D

_**Kwon Soonyoung** _

SHE WHAT?

Lol. 

Anyways, can we like meet right now, I'm alone and I have no idea where I am so I'm gonna hunt for the cafe you always tell me about hehehe

_**Lee Seokmin (Me)** _

LMAO HERE I'LL TEXT THE DIRECTIONS

THIS IS GREAT, I'M WITH FRIENDS RIGHT NOW

BE RIGHT BACK

**_Kwon Soonyoung_ **

 

OKAY I'M ON MY WAY

OHHHH WAIT FRIENDS

LIKE HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS LIKE JEONGHAN AND CHEOL AND YOUR BOYFRIEND JISOO?

THOSE HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS?

WEREN'T YOU FRIENDS WITH JIHOONIE?

IS HE WITH YOU GUYS 

I WANNA SEE HIM

ASK HIM IF HE REMEMBERS ME SEOKMINNNNNNN

hEy

HEY

HEY YOU ANSWER ME

TELL ME HE REMEMBERS ME :(((((

SEOKMIN ANSWER ME

 

_**Lee Seokmin (Me)** _

ONE AT A TIME

My eyes can't read as fast as you can type you dork

Jesus Christ Soonyoung will it kill you to be patient once in a while?

Yes, I'm with those high school friends lol

You keep asking me about Jihoon, why don't you just talk to him?

_**Kwon Soonyoung** _

Lee Seokmin, we've been through this how many times...

Right:

I lost most of my contacts once I left Korea

Except yours

And now you have helped me restore all of my contacts except for Jihoon's!

I've been gone for how many years, why haven't you given it to me???!!!

**_Lee Seokmin (Me)_ **

He changed his number, I told you.

Idk

I don't have it either

Jihoon doesn't normally text lmao

_**Kwon Soonyoung** _

He used to text me all the time though hmph unfair

You guys see each other in person right?

Ask him if he remembers me

C'mon Seokminnie pleeeeaaaassseeee

_**Lee Seokmin (Me)** _

Wait

 

Jihoon hadn't realized it but his face was slowly turning pink as he continued reading Soonyoung's messages.  _You're still as outgoing and loud as before._ He chuckled to himself.  _Even in messages._

Just as Jihoon was about to give the phone back to Seokmin, it started widely vibrating in his hands.  ** _Caller ID: Kwon Soonyoung_**

"Ah!" Jihoon threw the phone to Seokmin, ducking his head to the table. "You answer it!"

"Aish, you're such a wimp, Jihoon." he scoffed. "Hello?"

"Yes?" "Yes, I know." "Excuse you, the shop is not so far from your apartment."  "Who's the resident of Seoul here, you or me??" "Yeah, just take the next left then you'll see us outside the shop." "How many are we? Uh, four and a half."  _And a half??_  "Yeah, you'll see, you'll see." "Okay, bye."

Right Seokmin ended the called, Jihoon dived from his seat and pounced on him, grabbing him by the collar. "Did you just call me  _half_  of a person? How dare you insult my height, I thought we've been over this!" He was given a light chuckle, "Well it's true! You barely grew after high school--"

"Just because I'm almost half a ruler shorter than all of you, that does not mean you get to do that!"

"But Jihoon, you're basically a pipsqueak compared to us--"  _Pipsqueak. How dare he..._

"Never. Call me. A  _pipsqueak_." Jihoon was about to punch Seokmin before he was dragged away by Jeonghan and Seungcheol, "YAH, LET ME AT HIM, HIS RUDE BUTT CALLED ME A PIPSQUEAK SEUNGCHEOL C'MON." he whined, flailing in the two's arms. 

 

"Who called who a pipsqueak?" a voice from behind them asked. All five heads turned around to see a tall guy with orange hair, holding his phone and an envelope. When he realized everyone's eyes were on him, he laughed loudly, eyes turning into familiar shapes.

"SOONYOUNG!" Jihoon was immediately dropped as all four <tall> people ran over to their friend and engulfed him in a giant hug. He, however, stayed seated on the floor, jaw dropped, observing his (once?) best friend after the many years of not seeing and talking to him. 

_Woah._

_He got so, so,_

"Tall." he said the last word out loud, directing all the attention to him. Soonyoung, with a fond smile, broke away from the group and offered his hand to Jihoon to pull him up from the ground, dusting his pants while at it. "Jihoon," Soonyoung asked him cautiously, while the two couples in the background watched silently, "Do you still remember me?" 

Jihoon stayed silent for a while, before smiling. "I dunno, my best friend used to be my height, what happened?"

Soonyoung puffed out his chest boldly stating, "Well, I'm now a solid 5 feet and 10 inches of handsomeness, talent and awesomeness," Jihoon didn't even stop himself from loudly scoffing. "but what about you, weren't you taller than me before I left?"

"I'm 5'5" excuse you! That's pretty tall!"

"Awww, that means I can call  _you_  the pipsqueak now, right? Can I?" Soonyoung ruffled Jihoon's hair, making Jihoon shove his arm away. "Don't even try to, Kwon."

As the others laughed out loud and continued to ask Soonyoung questions, he looked back at Jihoon and sent him probably one of the  _brightest_  smiles the now shorter male had ever seen in his lifetime. In that moment, suddenly the butterflies in his stomach were back, and the feelings he had as a 7 year old rushed back to him.

 

 _I missed you. A lot._ Jihoon concluded.  __No matter how hard he could ever try to get rid of his feelings for Soonyoung, they'd always stay, and for once, Jihoon wasn't complaining about it.

 

* * *

 

 

 As the group separated to go back home, Jihoon was left with Soonyoung as they casually walked around the city in silence. 

"So...Lee Jihoon." Jihoon heard Soonyoung speak up.  _He's going to ask me why I stopped talking to him these past few years. Why I pretended the 5+ years of silence didn't happen when he arrived. Why the hell I'm so short. Crap crap crap crap cra--_

"Do you remember when we were kids?"  _Wait, what?_

"We were seven years old, and we saw that couple outside the school with the "Will You Be Mine?" banner?" Jihoon nodded silently, letting Soonyoung continue. The two stopped walking to let Soonyoung talk. 

"Do you still remember what you told me "Will You Be Mine?" meant?" he softly asked. 

__"Well, you listen here Jihoon okay? When you like someone a lot, and you want to spend the rest of your life with them, you can tell them that. Alright?"_ _

Jihoon gulped and nodded once more, cheeks flaring up. Soonyoung clearly noticed because he chuckled and leaned closer to Jihoon's face to see his reaction. When he realized Soonyoung was really near his face, he spun around so he wouldn't see him getting pinker by the second. 

"So~"

"Shut up, Kwon Soonyoung."

"C'mon Jihoonie~" _Oh no, t_ _hat nickname is back._ "You promised!" Jihoon could feel the taller one beaming from behind him. 

"I don't remember promising anything." he huffed. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of paper ripping, then Soonyoung's arm gently rested on Jihoon's shoulder while he held a browning paper out for him to read. "You promised. I even have the 'contract' we made, see!"

Jihoon's eyes widened. The paper was old and the ink was fading but he could clearly read what was written on it. "You still kept it? After all this time?" 

"Of course."  _Damn it._ "When I left after high school, I was scared that I'd never grow taller, or that I wouldn't see you again, you know..."

The shorter spun around to look at Soonyoung with confusion. "Really?"

He nodded, "After you signed this, I always thought about it everyday,  _would I grow taller? What if Jihoonie found someone taller than me to be with? What if he didn't remember the promise?_ "

Jihoon felt his ears grow warm. "But you didn't." Soonyoung concluded, staring at Jihoon with a fond, lovestruck look. 

He found himself nodding in agreement.  _I didn't._

"So, Lee Jihoon, former preschool giant, and now current shortest in the friend group," Jihoon punched Soonyoung's chest when he added that extra statement, which just made him laugh out loud. 

 

"Will You Be Mine?"

Jihoon smiled and pulled Soonyoung in for a tight hug for the  _first time._ "Sure, pipsqueak."

**Author's Note:**

> I love kid fics haha they always make me swoon because it's so obvious they're whipped but AS KIDS IT'S EVEN CUTER
> 
> this was based off of [@blucloud_san on twitter's fanart](https://twitter.com/blucloud_san/status/890965660473335808) go check that out after reading this, she's a really good mutual of mine and her work is really cute i swear! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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